Do formal objections to the error theory overgeneralize?

Abstract

We recently argued that formal objections to the normative error theory generalize to other error theories that have the same form. Since many of these other error theories are very plausible, we concluded that such objections overgeneralize. Christine Tiefensee and Gregory Wheeler disagree: they grant that formal objections generalize quite far, but deny that they overgeneralize, since they take the commitments behind these objections to be more plausible than any error theory. We argue that formal objections do overgeneralize, for two reasons. The first concerns how we should adjudicate conflicts between formal and substantive commitments. The second concerns an overlooked tension between formal objections and non-error-theoretic views. Our discussion shows that the commitments behind formal objections should be regarded as much more contentious than is often assumed.